What is it about the Sea? For me it’s the peace I feel and also its vulnerability 

Being by the sea for me is instantly calming.  Just watching the waves drift in and out is quite hynoptic.  It gives me an instant sense of peace.  A breakaway from my everyday.  It connects me back to nature immediately.

Anyone that loves the sea as much as I do will be equally in awe of it but also saddened  about what we as a race are doing to our precious oceans.  You do not need to live by or on the sea to appreciate its beauty and yet its vulnerability.

 

Over the past 40 years we have contributed to a loss of half of our marine life.

 

• We have overfished so severely that species such as mackerel and tuna have declined by 3/4 since the 1970s.  We are catching them quicker than they can reproduce.

 

• We have encroached on coastal habitats such as mangroves so much to cause a 20% decline.  These habitats are major areas of ecosystems support.  How have we done this?  By aggressive aquaculture such as shrimp farming.

 

• We have done such damage to our coral reefs with rising co2 levels (from atmospheric pollution that converts in to carbonic acid in the sea) which in turn bleaches the coral and leads it to die.  Alongside this, we habitually lather ourselves in sunscreens with chemicals such as oxybenzone that then wash off in water and are absorbed by coral with fatal effects.  

 

• We are doing untold damage to our oceans with micro plastics that find their way in to our oceans directly from beaches or further inland via our rivers.  It cannot have escaped anyones attention how are marine life are suffereing from this human made problem.  Turtles wrapped in fishing nets, birds’ stomachs full of plastic, mistakenly thought of as food.

 

• We are using personal care products daily that contain chemicals harmful not only to us, but also to our marine ecosystems.  Everyday items such as shampoo and shower gel can contain persistent chemicals that survive beyond our waste water treatment plants for onward journey in to our rivers and seas.  Hormone disruptors and skin irritants are scientifically proven to exist in humans, fish, polar bears and dolphins.  

 

If, like me, you care passionately about yourself, our seas and planet then join me on this blog where I am on a journey taking small steps to lead a more conscious lifestyle.

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